A Dark Park Awaits at Pershing Square, With Films and Art

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — Pershing Square will be busy with art and film this Friday evening, and it may be a good way to enjoy the final blast of warm weather with friends and have a picnic. Dog owners are encouraged to have a night out with the pup, provided the canine is well behaved. It’s “Chinatown” on screen and Abra Macabra as installation.

Mark Walsh will open the Halloween-themed Abra Macabre, the third installment for Downtown Artist Project’s outdoor Art Squared Gallery at Pershing Square. It will feature six artists, led by works from the one-man horror film franchise, Clive Barker. An opening reception will be held from 5pm to 9pm.

At 8 pm, Friday Night Flicks continues its screening series of films made in and about Downtown with Roman Polanski’s 1974 “Chinatown.” Film critic Roger Ebert revisited the film in 2000 and wrote: “‘Chinatown’ was seen as a neo-noir when it was released – an update on an old genre. Now years have passed and film history blurs a little, and it seems to settle easily beside the original noirs. That is a compliment.”

Horror and noir in Pershing Square. Just like the old days.